HMS Ark Royal survives unscathed into 1942.

[Admiral Beez]

See Hobbs "British Aircraft Carriers ". Ark's hangars WERE 60ft wide. The width was increased to 62ft in the Illustrious class

Thanks. I thought they were too narrow to allow four folded aircraft abreast. That's what I was going for. Perhaps I should have suggested 65-70ft?

 

[EwenS]

The difficulty of a comparison with the Essex is the whole basis of the design.

In Essex the hangar deck was the main strength deck. In Ark it was the flight deck and the hangar walls and ships's sides form part of the hull girder. So Ark represents a shorter but thicker hull girder relative to Essex. That meant her hull could be relatively built lighter.

Take away the side compartments means removing strength from the hull that needs to be replaced somehow, and adding extra decks (the girders under the flight deck and upper hangar deck are not deep enough for gallery decks). That means a taller ship (Ark was already pretty deep keel to flight deck). That means adding beam which in turn means either accepting a drop in speed or adding more power (generally means heavier machinery).

DK Brown, the naval architect, has commented in one of his books when discussing the pros and cons of open (US carriers like Essex) and closed (British carriers like Ark) is that a closed hangar helps reduce hull weight.